Japan looks to boost seafood exports to new markets after Chinese ban, trade body says

TOKYO — Japan is ramping up promotional efforts to boost seafood exports to more destinations in Asia, the US, and Europe as it seeks to fill a sales gap left by a year-long Chinese import ban, the head of the Japan External Trade Organisation said.

China, previously the biggest market for Japanese seafood exports, banned purchases of Japanese-origin seafood citing risk of radioactive contamination after Tokyo Electric Power started releasing treated water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean last August.

Japan's exports of agricultural, forestry and fishery products in the first half of 2024 fell for the first time since 2020 as exports to China plunged 43.8 per cent. Scallops were the hardest-hit, dropping 37 per cent year-on-year.

"We haven't yet fully compensated for the loss from China in volume, but exports to the US, Canada, Thailand and Vietnam are increasing, significantly boosting momentum in alternative markets," said Norihiko Ishiguro, the chairman of the Japan External Trade Organisation, or JETRO.

The government-backed trade body is promoting the diversification of export destinations for scallops and other products impacted by China's curb by establishing new commercial channels in Asia, the US, and Europe, he added.

"Our intensive promotional efforts have enabled us to redirect 20-30 per cent of the scallop exports lost due to China's import ban," Ishiguro said on Friday, ahead of the first anniversary of the Fukushima water release on Aug 24.

"There is significant growth potential for Japanese seafood exports... it won't take long to make up for the gap caused by China's ban," he added.

Japan exported 87.1 billion yen (S$782 million) worth of aquatic products to China in